


Heart

by Sinnermin



Category: Rick and Morty
Genre: Angst, Gen, Heartwarming
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-27
Updated: 2016-10-27
Packaged: 2018-08-27 07:57:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8393476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sinnermin/pseuds/Sinnermin
Summary: Morty is diagnosed with a heart condition, but his optimism about life remains strong. Heartwarming short stories about Morty's life with a heart problem. Originally on FanFiction.net. Batteries not included.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Original Author's Note:  
> I had this idea because of personal reasons, but I chose Rick and Morty because I like making them both suffer.
> 
> Being educated is busy work, so expect irregular updates.
> 
> Comments keep Morty alive until the next update!

Morty lay awake in his bed, his clock reading 3:05 in the morning. It was his night off his adventures with Rick, but he was awoken by the nightmare he just witnessed. 

Morty had been running at Rick’s side, heart racing like there was no tomorrow. An alien was chasing them and was hot on their heels. Morty didn’t know why, Rick probably committed a thievery, but this alien was angry and didn’t seem to be stopping soon. 

It wasn’t until Morty and his grandfather were cornered that the alien stopped. Rick had muttered something Morty was unable to understand, but the alien’s voice rang clearly. 

“I wouldn’t have chased you so much if I knew what the boy’s heart looked like.”

Morty stared at the alien in disbelief. “Wha-what do you mean by that?” I stuttered.

But the alien began to disapparate, and before Morty could see what Rick was doing, he jolted awake in his bedroom, his pulse ringing in his ears. It was 12 in the morning.

Since then, Morty was awake and stared at the dark room thinking about the words of the alien. His chest had been hurting for the past week or so, and sometimes he felt as if it fluttered in its rhythm. Perhaps his subconscious was trying to tell him something. Perhaps it’s a sign that something was wrong with his heart. Worry made him start to panic.

He thought about telling his mother or father, but he feared worrying them or even worse, making his father say it’s Rick’s fault. He also considered telling Summer, and she’d probably press him to see the doctor, which would lead to his parents knowing whether by Summer telling them or Morty being pressured to let them know what’s going on.

And then there’s Rick. Morty considered Rick to be a random shot. He could do nothing, or he could try to find a cure himself. He could randomly let it slip in front of his parents, or he could tell him everything’s fine.

Everything's not fine and Morty knew it, but if there’s anyone he could take the risk with, it was Rick.

He pulled himself out of his bed and walked to Rick’s bedroom. Fortunately the old man was awake.

“Out.” He ordered.

“Rick I-I need to tell you something.” Morty mumbled.

Hearing his voice, Rick spun around in the revolving chair he sat in.

“Jesus Morty, what are you doing up? Don’t you hibernate or something when I don’t take you to our adventures?”

Morty played with his fingers nervously before he finally admitted his worries. “Rick, I had a dream.”

“A dream, that’s all it was Morty. A dream” Rick swung back on the blueprints he was working on.

“No Rick, let me finish. In my dream, we were running from this alien monster thing and he said he wouldn’t have chased us if he knew what my heart looked like.”

Rick turned his attention back to his grandson, interest piping up in his eyes. “Go on,” he pressed.

“Well I asked him what he meant but he disappeared and I woke up. My heart was beating very fast and it took a while for it to calm down.”

“So it wasn’t a dream, it was a nightmare,” Rick concluded.

“No Rick! I-the alien said what my heart looked like, but he didn’t say how it felt like. Lately it’s been feeling like it wants to explode. My chest hurts sometimes and my heart...well my heart has been feeling different.”

“It’s probably all the junk food you eat every day. From the diet you have, I’ll be surprised you make it past 35.”

“But what if it’s my subconscious or something trying to tell me something is wrong. I need to know!”

“So why are you telling me this? Your parents are in the other room.”

“Because, you’re the only one I can trust right now. If it gets worse, I’ll tell them, but right now I want to ask you to take me to the doctor’s. Can you do that for me?”

“Wait, right now?”

Morty nodded, looking away in shame. Rick blinked, but he pushed himself off the chair and walked out of the room grumpily.

“Let me get my ship keys,” he yawned.

Morty smiled, and before he knew it, he was in Rick’s ship watching the city go by as they flew to the nearest clinic.  
“Is there any cure for his condition?” Rick urged.

The doctor shook his head. “I can only prescribe him medications to help him out, but I’m afraid I can’t help beyond that.”

Rick looked down at his hands, regret unusually gripping at him.

“It’s a good thing you brought him in now,” the doctor reassured. “Any later and it would’ve gotten worse.”

When Rick didn’t reply, the doctor continued. “He will be fine, so long as he doesn’t do anything strenuous of the heart and comes back for regular monitoring.”

The doctor handed Rick some paperwork about Morty’s treatment before sending him off to receive the pills prescribed to him. Morty was waiting outside and joined him on the walk across the hallway to the pharmacy.

“So they found out something was wrong with my heart huh?” he mused bitterly.

“Yeah,” Rick answered curtly.

“So does this mean no more adventures?” Morty mewed.

Rick stopped in his tracks, surprising Morty as he crashed onto him.

“No kid, we’re going on adventures, but we’re going to take it easy from now on. You’ll also tell me when your heart starts feeling funny, alright?”

Morty stared at his grandfather with an eyebrow raised. Rick noticed how out of character he was being and pushed out his familiar attitude he knew Morty loved.

“Fucking piece of shit burden,” he grunted before he ruffled Morty’s hair and walked away to Morty’s familiar “Hey!”


	2. Chapter 2

Months went by and Morty had kept his heart condition a secret from his parents and sister. For a while, Morty was fine with it. He’d go down to the clinic either with Rick or on his own every 2 weeks for a monitoring to see if everything is fine, and his pills would be refilled using Rick’s money he lent as Morty continued lying about Rick being his legal guardian. All without his family knowing what has been going on. 

But even with regular monitoring and medication, his heart condition progressively became worse over time. Not enough to hinder Morty’s adventures or become significant in his life, but enough to give him a scare. Eventually, it gave him anxiety that took over his waking life, leading him to need to cover up his condition and heart problem. He had the feeling he needed to talk to someone about it outside of Rick’s agreement.

He was not ready to reveal what happened to him to his parents, so he went with the last candidate standing, Summer.

The thought of it unnerved him, leading him to go through an endless cycle between about to tell and wuss out. Eventually he forgot all about his plan as he learned to manage his stress a little more and continued on with his daily life.

But even then he was not at peace. He noticed Summer changing her actions around him. She appeared friendlier when he was around, but at the corner of his eye, when he was not looking, she seemed suspicious. She eyed him with eyes of interest and approached him more often than she did before. She practically avoided him before, but now it was as if she followed him around the house. Morty would go in the kitchen and more often than not, Summer was there, doing nothing but staring at her phone.

Morty was beginning to suspect that perhaps Rick told her about his condition behind his back. He thought about confronting the old man in the garage, but he feared Summer would hear them in her own sleuthing. 

It was one day, when their parents weren’t home, that Morty walked into the kitchen, aiming to get some cookies and sure enough Summer was there leaning over the counter on her phone. When he entered, she looked up. “Oh hey Morty!” she greeted with a smile.

“H-hey Summer,” Morty replied. “What are you doing in the kitchen leaning over the counter like that? Isn’t the couch a bit more comfortable?”

“I had to charge my phone so I just stayed here.”

Morty turned to the snack cabinet where he chocolate cookies are stored. Just as he was about to reach out, he heard Summer put down her phone and sigh.

“Hey Morty, can I talk to you for a sec?” she asked.  
Immediately, Morty’s insides froze up at the shock of Summer’s question. Normally, important conversations start with that five-word question. “Can I talk to you?” What a joke!

“Oh s-s-sure Summer. Whatever you want, shoot!” he stuttered nervously.

“Well, I was just wondering. Is there something troubling you lately?” she wondered.

So Rick never told her. Morty sighed in relief to himself that Rick stuck to his promise.

“N-no, wh-wh-why do you ask?” Morty couldn’t help but stutter.

“Well, you’ve been seeming a little...off recently. You seem spooked, and sometimes I see you grabbing your chest as if you’re having a heart attack or something. Is it your anxiety?”

Morty’s heart began to beat rapidly now, and he reached up to grasp it. Summer stared at him in shock. “See? Like that!”

Morty looked away in shame and could not bring himself to look up at his sister.

“No, ev-everything is fine.” he grumbled.

“No, everything's not fine. I can see it in your face, you’re so worried!” Summer argued. She walked closer to her brother and put a hand on his shoulder. “Talk to me, please. What’s wrong?”

“Summer, if I tell you what’s been going on, do you promise you won’t tell mom or dad?” Morty was surprised on how calm he sounded when he asked this. Summer nodded.

He reached his hand over his chest and sighed. “I...have a heart condition.”

Summer’s gaze turned from curious to shock in an instant. “What?” She inquired. 

“Lately I’ve been feeling like my heart skips ya know and-and my chest hurts. I told Rick a few months ago, and he took me to the clinic for a screening.”

“Morty, what? Why didn’t you tell anyone?”

“I-I-I didn’t want to cause panic! To you or our parents…” Guilt gripped Morty’s conscious, but he continued on. 

“It feels like it’s been getting better. I’ve been getting medication behind our parents’ back. Rick has been helping me!”

“Rick? Our grandpa?”

“Look I know it’s hard to believe okay? I’m surprised too, but he hasn’t said anything. And y-you’re not going to either, right?”

For a moment, Summer paused as she stared at her brother. It wasn’t until Morty demanded another “Right?” that she finally answered. 

“Okay Morty, I won’t tell them. For now. But if it gets worse you tell me. Otherwise I will tell them. It’s for your own good!”

“I can understand that,” Morty murmured. “Thanks Summer, I owe you.”

“You always do, little brother.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments keep Summer from telling her parents.


End file.
